Delivery rules are different in every market — who can sell, who can buy, how it’s tracked, and how it’s paid for. This is a plain-English map of the major ones, and what each means for running a compliant storefront.
This is a general reference, not legal advice. Cannabis law changes fast and varies by city as well as country. Always confirm the current rules with your regulator or a qualified local advisor before you operate.
Most software comparisons start with features. For a cannabis operator, the first question is narrower and harder: what is actually legal where you operate, and does your platform handle it? A storefront that ignores local rules is not a shortcut — it is a liability. The rules decide who you can sell to, how you verify them, how each sale is tracked, and how money can change hands.
Three things vary the most from market to market: track-and-trace reporting (whether every sale must be reported to a government system), payment (whether cards work at all, or whether cash and bank rails are the norm), and delivery itself (whether it is permitted, and under what conditions). DabDash is built so the same storefront can adapt to all three — automatic age and ID checks, your own payment processor, and compliance reporting where it is required.
| Market | Delivery status | Track-and-trace | Typical payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Legal in many states, regulated state by state | METRC (most states) / BioTrack | Cash, debit/ACH; no federal card support |
| Canada | Legal nationwide, province-regulated | Federal + provincial reporting | Cards, e-transfer, cash |
| Thailand | Permitted under evolving rules | Licence + local registration | QR bank transfer, cash |
| Germany | Adult-use legalised, club + pilot models | Association / pilot reporting | SEPA bank transfer, cash |
| South Africa | Private use decriminalised; commercial rules tightening | Licence-dependent | EFT, card, cash |
| Mexico | Decriminalised; association/club models | Permit-based | SPEI transfer, cash |
| Spain | Cannabis social clubs (members only) | Club membership records | Cash, member account |
Confirm the customer is old enough and who they say they are — at account creation, at checkout, and at handoff where required.
Only offer delivery where you are licensed to deliver. Zone logic keeps out-of-area customers out of a cart they cannot legally fill.
Where a government system like METRC is required, every sale has to be reported. Automatic reporting keeps your record clean without manual entry.
Many markets cap how much a customer can buy in a window. The system should enforce limits before an order completes, not after.
Use the payment rails that are legal and practical where you operate. Bringing your own processor means you are never forced onto rails your market does not support.
Keep a complete, exportable record of every order and adjustment so you can answer a regulator without scrambling.
The US is the most complex market because there is no single national rulebook — each state writes its own, and most require every cannabis sale to be reported to a track-and-trace system, usually METRC. For a US operator, the platform question is simple: does it report to METRC automatically, or does it leave that as your staff’s problem?
DabDash reports every sale to METRC automatically in the states that require it, so a busy delivery operation does not fall behind on receipts. The full breakdown — how reporting works, which states are covered, and what it means for your licence — is in the METRC guide.
Age checks, zone coverage, your own payment rails, and reporting where it’s required — built in.
How DabDash reports every US sale to METRC automatically.
Bring your own payment processor so you’re never tied to one market’s rails.
Zones, dispatch, and routing that keep delivery inside your licensed area.
The steps from licence to launch for a new cannabis operator.
Legality varies by market and often by city. DabDash gives you the tools to operate compliantly — age and ID checks, zone-based coverage, purchase limits, your own payment rails, and reporting where required — but it is your responsibility to hold the right licence and follow local law. This page is a reference, not legal advice.
Track-and-trace is a government system that records cannabis from production to sale. Many US states require reporting to METRC; other markets have their own schemes or none. Where it is required, DabDash can report sales automatically so you stay compliant without manual entry.
DabDash does not depend on card payments. You bring your own payment processor and can offer cash on delivery, bank transfer, QR-code rails, a payment link, or crypto — whatever is legal and normal in your market. That is why the same platform works across very different regulatory environments.
You draw your delivery zones, and DabDash matches every customer to a zone automatically from their address. Customers outside your licensed area are told delivery is not available, so you never take an order you cannot legally fulfil.
DabDash builds age and ID verification into the customer flow — at account creation, at checkout, and at handoff where your market requires it — so the responsibility is enforced by the system, not left to memory.
No. This reference is general information and cannabis law changes quickly. Always confirm the current rules with your regulator or a qualified local advisor before you operate.
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